At the end of last year, Khamzat Chimaev tested positive for the coronavirus and was subsequently withdrawn from his fight with Leon Edwards. The promotion then decided to simply move and rebook the rising star immediately.
Ali Abdelaziz previously noted that “his lungs did not recover 100%,” but with a fight still booked, Chimaev was still trying to train through his severe symptoms. However, things did not end well for him and the fight was canceled again.
Chimaev’s team has since described some of the ordeals he has faced for months, including “numerous complications” and “several” trips to the hospital.
“It’s crazy. I have no words,” Chimaev’s manager Majdi Shammas told Front Kick. “He insisted he wanted to train, but then we tried and it failed. He was really bad. He didn’t even drive two rounds in a row. He did a round, rested, started coughing and started feeling sick again. We had to cancel training, even an ambulance to the hospital. “
Chimaev had a CT scan for chest pain, blood tests, and a host of other tests. His coach stated that in addition to all other symptoms, Chimaev also had bronchitis and was on antibiotics for 10 days.
“The other day, when he finished training on Tuesday, he couldn’t even walk to his room,” Shammas said. He didn’t even have the energy to go to his room. He fell asleep in the lobby.
‘He can’t train. His friends called me and said, “Hey, Khamzat can’t even talk. His fever is so high, his headache is so much, you know, his muscle aches and all. “Then an ambulance came and took him to the hospital,” Shammas continued. Even when he was in the hospital, he thought he was going to die when he called me. He was really bad.
‘I really sympathize with him. If I know Khamzat well, he wants to get back as soon as possible, (but) he needs to rest for a while, get his body fully functional, ”he said. ‘I can’t let him train. Who knows? This time he started training, he was lucky. He may not be so lucky next time. ”
Chimaev, like former champion Cody Garbrandt and many others, appears to be among the estimated 10% of COVID patients that doctors call “ long distance runners ” or patients with persistent symptoms. It is still unclear how many of these symptoms are permanent, but there have been many cases where critically ill patients developed breathing problems that permanently scar their lungs.
His health is clearly much more important than his fighting career, but hopefully everything clears up and Chimaev returns to normal soon.